PORT CLINTON, Pa. — The first winter “Iron Horse Ramble” will provide an early start to the 2025 steam excursion schedule for the Reading & Northern, the railroad announced today (Dec. 28, 2024). In all, four steam excursions are planned, with tickets on sale at this Friday, Jan. 3, 2025, at 9 a.m.
The season opener will come on Saturday, Feb. 8, when former Reading Co. 4-8-4 No. 2102 will power an excursion between Reading and Jim Thorpe, Pa. For rare-mileage enthusiasts, that trip will also offer a chance to stay on the train for the wye move to turn the train for its return trip. The 9 a.m. departure from Reading Outer Station will offer a layover of more than 4 hours in Jim Thorpe, providing a chance to explore the town or ride the Lehigh Gorge Scenic Railway.
Tickets will be available at the Reading & Northern passenger website or by phone at 610-562-2102. Standard coach tickets will be $79 per passenger, while Crown Class Coach tickets will be $99. Additional upscale seating options will be available by calling the ticket office.
No. 2102 will again operate between Reading and Jim Thorpe on May 24, 2025. This trip will offer the same ticket prices and will also offer the option of staying aboard for the wye move.
“These lower price points for our popular Iron Horse Rambles excursions are a way of saying ‘thank you’ to our loyal customers who have ridden these trips with us in the past,” Reading & Northern owner and CEO Andy Muller Jr. says in a press release, “and as a means of attracting new customers who have never experienced a mainline steam train ride.”
The other trips will be offered June 21, 2025, from Nesquehoning Regional Railroad Station to Tunkhannock, Pa., for the town’s 44th annual Founder’s Day Festival, and Aug. 23 from Nesquehoning to Pittston, Pa., for that community’s annual Tomato Festival. In both cases, the trips begin at 9 a.m. and will offer ample time in the destination communities. Tickets for both will be $99 for standard coach and $110 for Crown Class Coach, with additional premium seating available by phone.
Steam-powered fall foliage trips will be announced later in the year; the company also anticipates a return to operation for 4-6-2 No. 425 in the second half of 2025.
